Daktoritang Spicy Korean Chicken

My mom used to make this for us at least twice a month. Sometimes she’d use a whole chicken, cut into pieces, like I did here. And sometimes, she’d use wings. I wanted to go over how to cut a chicken and thought this recipe would be perfect for it. Feel free to sub the whole chicken with wings. Everything else in the recipe will remain the same.

Just very lightly browned to start. You don’t want to brown too much, your end dish will be overcooked. The light browning, or “dark yellowing”, is to seal the surface to prevent sticking while cooking.

This is Gaen Nip or Perilla leaves or Sesame leaves. Sometimes there’s confusion online and Perilla is used interchangeably for Shiso and Sesame leaves. These are not the same as Shiso leaves. To be safe, I’ll call them Sesame leaves. But sesame leaves and sesame seeds don’t come from the same plant. It’s confusing, I know. It has to do with the translation. Just be aware when you are out shopping at a non-Korean place and double check to make sure it is not Shiso. Although Shiso is very yummy as well, I don’t know how it’ll worked cook with Korean dishes.

Discard the thick stems.

Notes:
The sesame leaves and jalapeno are optional. I also like to use cabbage sometimes, chopped into big pieces.

If you want to make these with wings make sure the wings are separated at the joints. The ones that are separated are usually sold as “party wings”. The instructions will remain the same for the wings.

To make this spicier, you can add up to 2 T. more of the powdered red pepper. I wouldn’t add more than that, it’ll start getting “grainy”. You can also mince a jalapeno(s) into the sauce mix, with the seeds for the heat.

Place a large pot over high heat. Heat oil until shimmering. Very lightly brown chicken pieces skin side down first. Don’t crowd the pot. If needed, do it in batches using half the oil. Flip pieces over and cook just very briefly. You just want the chicken surface to cook. Turn off heat and make the sauce.

Pour the sauce into the pot and mix well. Make sure all the pieces are coated. Scatter onion pieces over the top. Bring to boil on high heat.

Reduce heat to medium low and with lid on, cook for about 15 minutes. Lower heat to low and cook with lid on for 10 minutes.
Throw in the sesame leaves and jalapeno if using. Mix well. Lower heat to medium low, place lid back on and cook for another 10 minutes. All the while, stir occasionally, like every 5-10 minutes or so. Just to keep everything mixed while cooking.

Open lid, turn heat up to medium high, and cook until the liquid is reduced and thickened, stirring so the bottom doesn’t burn . The liquid should only coat the bottom of the pot.